Shoshin: Embrace Beginner's Mindset

Hey ,

Do you remember your first day as a founder?

The chances were legit 50-50, still are for many of us.

Many of us would not know, When & Where; while simply working on an idea we had the founder tag attached to our name (as we discussed in the last story).

But what we all founders would vouch for is:

From the day we started a company till today a lot has changed, but ironically in an entrepreneur’s life change is the only constant.

For us founders, a day looks like: 

New Challenges, New Solutions, & New Problems

In totality everything is NEW.

And, To be honest, waking up to this feeling is exciting but overwhelming.

And, why won’t it be? 

We have salaries to pay with a limited cash runway.

Last week, I got the chance to meet a wise man in a cozy coffee shop. 

While we were having a random chat about the entrepreneurial life, he shared with me about this amazing Japanese concept, associated with Zen Buddhism: ‘Shoshin’ 

The word Shoshin consists of two characters:

Sho (初) i.e. ‘Beginning’’

Shin (心) i.e. ‘Heart’ or ‘Mind’

Hence, the word Shoshin ( 初心) literally means Beginner’s Mind.

However, as a concept, Shoshin is a state of mind in which one approaches a subject with an open and receptive attitude that is free of any preconceptions and judgments. It’s like approaching things with a beginner’s or fresh mindset.

In Japanese culture, Shoshin is considered a valuable mindset for various professions such as art, martial arts, and business. 

This is solely because, by having a beginner’s mindset, one stays open to new learnings and experiences which is extremely important for growth and development.  

As seasoned founders, we know that one can never be a disrupter if one is a slave to old beliefs and mindsets. 

Therefore, taking up the Shoshin mindset can be a savior and game changer for us as it can make entrepreneurs:

1. More Creative & Innovative:

In a beginner’s mind, there are multiple possibilities, but in an expert’s mind, it’s few.

With time, we founders become experts at what we do, hence new strategies and ideas don’t excite us as they used to. 

But with Shoshin, we would again be able to approach our business with open-mindedness, as we did in our initial years of building it, that can escalate our growth.

2. Adaptable to Change:

Change is overwhelming. We all want to stick to that one safe way of doing business because we have millions of dollars at stake. But the business environment is ever-changing too.

So when one has to choose: Sticking to the old strategies or developing new ones?

Entrepreneurs with a Shoshin mindset would not fear change. In fact, they would embrace new technologies, market trends, and customer needs.  

3. Build Strong Stakeholder Relationships:

When you are a true beginner, your mind is open. You are willing to take feedback or other pieces of information, even if you know the industry in and out.

With a Shoshin mindset, founders like us, can easily build strong relationships with customers, investors, and employees by:

• Listening to customer feedback to build customer loyalty

• Having a learning attitude will help in collaborating at work with employees and partners

In a nutshell, build your beginner mindset and let new experiences, new ideas and new opportunities welcome you to the world of success. 

Thanks for taking out your precious time for reading this.

If you have any specific feedback or anything interesting, you’d like to share, please let us know by replying to this email.

Stay tuned for the next one. Until then, keep building consciously.

Thank you,

Santhosh, founder of WeBuidl